Douglas Sidialo, who lost his sight in the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, has pledged to help promote world peace through various activities

Travelling across Africa on a bicycle may sound like an impossible task, and especially if the person undertaking the challenge is blind. That is why Douglas Sidialo, 33, confounded many when he took part in the Tour d’Afrique, an expedition that involved riding a bicycle across the continent. The journey started in Cairo, Egypt, on January 18 and ended in Cape Town, South Africa, three months later. Those who measure challenges by the clock would see the journey as a race against time, but for Sidialo, it was an adventure undertaken in the spirit of peace.

Douglas Sidialo (centre) lays a wreath at the Pentagon in honour of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

And it is not difficult to see why he accepted the challenge; Sidialo lost his eyesight during the 1998 terrorist bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi.

It would not be too much to say that Sidialo has an incredible attitude and spirit. He has taken his blindness as a challenge and is working with other survivors of the blast to seek new ways of coping with the challenges posed by their unique condition.

In August this year, he was in Quebec, Canada, to participate in the International Blind Sports Association World Championship as a cyclist. Although he didn’t win a medal, he is happy to have passed the message of peace to those he interacted with during the event.

He says that Tour d’Afrique was also meant to raise funds and campaign for the adoption of sustainable transportation systems around the world, particularly in Africa, so as to preserve the continent’s natural heritage and bio-diversity.

He says that Tour d’Afrique was conceived in part to champion the use of bicycles as an alternative to motor vehicles. "By cycling across Africa and delivering the message for a rational approach to transportation, we were hoping to make an impact both on decision makers and ordinary people around the world," he says.

"Travelling the whole distance was not just an adventure for me," says Sidialo. He, however, acknowledges that the trip was more gruelling than he had envisaged.

Just like the Tour de France, Tour d’Afrique, is a gruelling, multiple-stage race. Unlike the former, however, which lasts only three weeks, this one lasted three months and covered about 11,000 kilometres. And there was neither fame nor fortune to be bagged by the winner. The most important thing was to use the expedition to promote peace and conservation initiatives. Twenty-seven men and six women from eight countries participated in the event. And although the journey was difficult, they had an opportunity to experience the beauty of Africa as they cycled their way from the north to the south.

Sidialo says his main reason for participating in the event was to extend a hand of peace to all war-mongering leaders and their henchmen. His gesture, he hopes, will be an inspiration to many others who are struggling with disability and especially those who, like himself, have been maimed in conflict situations.

To this day, the man still has vivid recollections of the events that led to his blindness. Before August 7, 1998, Sidialo had perfect vision. But after being caught up in the terrorist bomb attack, he was admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital only to be discharged two months later — permanently blind.

Sidialo was running an errand for his employer when he saw a car suddenly take a wrong turn towards the American Embassy. "I heard gunshots and saw a guard running towards my car, then a sudden deafening blast. I passed out and when I regained consciousness, I was being attended to at the Kenyatta National Hospital. I think some toxic substances got into my eyes but local doctors couldn’t help. Specialist doctors who flew in from Germany could not help either, and I lost my eyesight," says Sidialo.

Although he worried about his future, the fate of his wife and two children weighed more heavily on him than his own. But his adverse condition has, over time, emboldened him.

"I’m cycling because I know that the world is in disarray. There are very few people preaching peace and many leaders out looking for war. My mission is to spread peace, love and justice and create awareness about these issues," he says.

In his view, cycling the length of Africa for peace was a great idea. And most of his fellow sojourners concur, although the journey did have its interesting moments. For instance, some said that passing through Khartoum in Sudan was most enjoyable because of the cheering crowds, while for others, Malawi provided the biggest challenge because they were stoned by on-lookers.

Sidialo rode a tandem bike with his sighted friend, Benson Njoroge Ng’ang’a, but only joined the race on the Kenyan leg onwards; that was the agreement he had with his sponsors. Ng’ang’a sat in the front seat of the tandem and acted as a guide for Sidialo, but both men had to pull their weight.

The cyclists proceeded from Kenya through Dodoma, Tanzania, Nkatha Bay in Malawi and Harare, Zimbabwe, before embarking on the final leg that took them to Botswana via Gabarone and on to the last leg to Cape Town.

Sidialo says he has special empathy for victims of terrorism, such as the September 11 survivors.

"I know how difficult it is to accept the situation when something like what happened to them takes place. But acceptance is the only way to deal with it. There is no way one can prevent what has already happened so wherever I go, I have made it my duty to tell people to adopt a positive attitude to life," he says.

To help him cope with his condition, he underwent special training in the US where he learnt how to use a specialised computer beside other basic skills like cooking. He fondly remembers the numerous public lectures he gave to bring people’s attention to the plight of the thousands of Kenyans injured in the 1998 bomb attack and also the Paradise Hotel blast, in which 15 people, 12 of them Kenyans, were killed.

His most cherished memory is of the time he reached out to survivors of the September 11 attacks by laying a wreath on behalf of Kenyan terrorism survivors. The brief ceremony was held last year at the Pentagon in Washington DC. "I was given an opportunity to review a guard of honour and later participated in a march from the Pentagon to the World Trade Centre grounds as part of the September 11 anniversary celebrations."

Sidialo says he wants to study conflict transformation programmes to enable him improve his peace-building and mediation skills.

"In my view, killing terrorists creates more terrorists. It is not a solution. There are more peaceful alternatives, including negotiation and prayer. Both Christians and Muslims should be encouraged to pray and show love to one another," he opines.

Besides cycling for peace, Sidialo has been involved in other initiatives. Last year, for instance, he attended seminars on trauma awareness and recovery which were meant to equip religious leaders in several American cities with the tools needed to deal with the trauma caused by the September 11 attacks. And on September 10 this year, he is the one who rang the bell at the beginning of trading at the New York Stock Exchange. While there, he believes that he shook hands with Bill Gates, but he can’t be sure because he couldn’t see the man.

He also took part in a three-day cycling event from New York City to Washington in honour of victims of the September 11 attacks and their families.

"That ride brought together victims of violence from all parts of the world but the most memorable thing about it was the fact that both the Israeli and Palestinian teams travelled together. People could see them eating together and cycling beside one another despite the animosity between their two countries," Sidialo recalls.

"If we don’t have advocates and champions of peace, we should be prepared for doom," says the man who believes that war is just a short-term solution to intractable problems.

Despite his trauma, Sidialo is grateful that he is still alive. The man with whom he was travelling in his car died instantly in the blast.

Elijah Akhahenda, a professor at St Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, is one of Sidialo’s best friends. The two met while Sidialo was on tour in the US and collaborated in telling Sidialo’s story, and that of other Kenyan bomb attack victims, in a new book, When Blood and Tears United A Country: The Bombing of the American Embassy in Kenya.

Besides this, Sidialo is the leader of an organisation known as Visual Seventh August, which brings together survivors and families of victims of the August 7 bombing. "Through the new book and the organisation, I hope to expand my frontiers of preaching peace."